_In Which the Issue is Determined_
BILLY Topsail went to the forecastle as he was bid. With Tuttle so
near, he seemed not to have the will to carry out his purpose. He
passed Archie on the way forward, even responded to his nod and merry
greeting with a wistful smile; but said nothing, for he felt that
Tuttle's cold gray eyes were fixed upon him. Archie marked that strange
smile, and thought--it was just a fleeting thought--that Billy must
be in trouble; he was about to stop, but put the solicitous question
off--until another time.
Aboard the _Lucky Star_, Captain Black called Johnny Tott to his cabin.
It was a serious moment for both, as both knew. The hunter realized
that the captain would act upon his statement, and that there would
be no return, once the course was taken. Moreover, he knew that he
would have to take oath, and support that oath with evidence, in the
court-room at St. John's.
"Now, John, I wants just the plainest kind o' truth," the captain
began, for, shorn of his exaggerated dignity, he was a fair,
honest-hearted man. "I've been friends with Cap'n Hand ever since
we was young, an' I've liked him every hour o' that time, an' I've
believed in him every minute; so I'm in no humour t' have a fallin'
out with him. It'll go hard with the man who wrongfully leads me into
_that_. Come, now, what's the _truth_ o' all this?"
"The truth, sir," Johnny replied, slowly, "is this: We left twenty-two
tows on the ice last night, every one with a Bryan & Company flag
flyin' over it, an' we found but sixteen this mornin'. That's all I
knows about it."
"Did you make the count alone?"
"No, sir. They was three others, which," most importantly, "I can
pro-dooce any minute."
"All right, Johnny," said the captain, striking the table with his
fist. "I believe you. You won't find Cap'n Black go back on his crew.
I'll have that fat, if I have t' fight for it!"
While this was passing, Captain Hand had summoned Bill o' Burnt Bay,
Ebenezer Bowsprit and two or three other trustworthy men to _his_
cabin, and requested Archie Armstrong (the good captain seemed to
consider the lad in some measure a representative of the firm) to hear
the interview. One and all, for themselves and for the crew, they
earnestly denied knowledge of any trickery. They regretted, they said,
that the incident had occurred; but they believed that the seals were
the property of the ship, and they hoped that the captain would not
"see them robbed."
"But, Bill," said the captain, hopelessly, "you didn't _count_ the
tows?"
"No, sir," Bill answered, promptly, "I'm bound t' say I didn't. After
your two recall guns, sir, we was in a hurry t' get aboard. 'Twas a
fault, I knows, sir, but it can't be helped now. I don't _know_ that
anybody changed the flags. I hasn't any reason t' _think_ so. So I
_believe_ that the fat's ours."
"Well, men," the captain concluded, "that's just my position. I _knows_
nothin' t' the contrary; so I got t' believe that the fat's ours.
You'll tell the crew that I'll stand by them. We'll take that fat,
whatever they tries t' do, an' we'll let the courts decide afterwards.
That's all."
There was fret and uncertainty for the captain after the men trooped
out. He was an honest man, seeking the right, but not sure that he was
right. It seemed to him that, whatever the outcome, his reputation
and that of the firm would be tarnished. In a trial at law, the crew
of the _Lucky Star_ and the firm of Alexander Bryan & Company would
appear as the aggrieved parties. Men would say--yes, men would even
publicly take oath to it--that Captain Hand was a thief, and that the
firm of Armstrong & Son abused its power and wealth in sustaining him.
Not everybody would believe _that_, of course; but many would--and the
odium of the charge would never disappear, let the verdict of the jury
be what it might.
"B'y," he said to Archie, in great distress, "'tis a tryin' place t'
be in. I wants t' wrong nobody. 'Twould wound me sore t' wrong Cap'n
Black, who's always been my friend. But I got t' have that fat. A
sealin' skipper that goes back on his crew is not fit for command. I
_must_ stand by the men. If I had an enemy, b'y," he added, "an' that
enemy wanted t' ruin me, he couldn't choose a better----"
Captain Hand stopped dead and stared at the table--stared, and gaped,
until his appearance was altogether out of the common.
"What's the matter, cap'n?" asked Archie, alarmed.
At that moment, however, there was a knock at the door. Billy Topsail
came in, pale and wide-eyed; but the sight of Archie seemed to compose
him.
"I got t' tell you about Tim Tuttle," he began, hurriedly. "I hears
there's goin' t' be a fight, an'--an'--I got t' tell you that I seed
him change the flags on the tows."
"What!" shouted the captain, jumping out of his chair.
And so it all came out. At the end of the talk, Billy Topsail was
assured by the smiling captain that he need not fear Tim Tuttle after a
word or two had been spoken with him. Bill o' Burnt Bay was summoned,
and corroborated Billy's statement that Tuttle was the last man to
leave the tows. And Tuttle was the captain's enemy! Everybody knew it.
The difficulties were thus all brushed away. The crew would accept the
explanation and be content. Tuttle would be ridiculed until he was well
punished for the trick that had so nearly succeeded. It was a good
ending to the affair--a far better outcome than any man aboard had
dared hope for.
"Bill," said the captain, with an odd little smile, "send Tim Tuttle t'
Cap'n Black, with my compliments; an' will Cap'n Black be so kind as t'
accept my apology, and have a friendly cup o' tea with me immediate?"
* * * * *
Later, when Tuttle left the captain's cabin, after the "word or two"
had been spoken, he was not grateful for the generous treatment he
had received. He meditated further mischief; but before the second
opportunity offered, there happened something which put animosity out
of the hearts of all the crew.